Washington: A new study has recently revealed that compound found in grapes, red wine and peanuts may help prevent age-related memory loss.

Ashok K Shetty, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine and Director of Neurosciences at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, has been studying the potential benefit of resveratrol, an antioxidant that is found in the skin of red grapes, as well as in red wine, peanuts and some berries.

Resveratrol has been widely touted for its potential to prevent heart disease, but Shetty and a team that includes other researchers from the health science center believe it also has positive effects on the hippocampus, an area of the brain that was critical to functions such as memory, learning and mood.

Resveratrol might even be able to help people afflicted with severe neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.